Combustion of gaseous fuel



Patented Jan. 19d, 1932 UNiTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE HUGH B. BARBER, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIG'N'OR TO SURFACE COMBUSTION CORPORA- TION, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK I COMBUSTION OF GASEOUS FUEL 'Application med october 15, 1930. serial No. 488,320.

space to which free air does not have access, p

of fuel gas presents many practical difiiculties. The present invention therefore aims to provide a simple and practical method of and apparatus for forming a Huid fuehmixture which upon being burned in a confined space will produce a long luminous liame.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying dra-wings wherein the preferred form of appaartus is illustrated.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus'and so much of a furnace wall as is necessary to explain the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and viewed in direction of the arrows. v

Fig.' 3 is an enlarged view of a detail of the oil atomizing apparatus and having a por-u tion broken away so as to clearly showthe interior passages.

In the drawings, 4 indicates a portion of a `furnace wall provided with a refractory throat 6 rounded ofi' at its ends as shown. Secured to the outer side of the wall 4 is a casing or hood comprising a front plate 8, a cy? lindrical portion 10, and a flange 12 through which latter are passed bolts 14 for securing the hood to the furnace wall. The cylindrical portion 10 is provided with radial apertures 16 for the admission of air, and dis posed about said portion is a split band 18 provided at its split with upstanding lugs or flanges 2 0k through which is passed a. bolt 22 for tightening the band to hold itin adjusted position.

The band is in eect a damper lor shutter for controlling the effective areas of the apertures 16, it being understood that the band is adjustable axially of the cylindrical portion 10 to expose said apertures. The interior of the casing may be provided withradial' partitions or vanes 24 for strengthening or e imparting rigidity to the casing as a whole.

Projecting into said hood or casing through an opening in the end wall 8 thereof is a water-.cooled head 26 which is xedly secured to said wall in any suitable manner as ,by bolts 28 passed through a radial flange 30 on said head 26. Positioned in the head 26 and extending therefrom is a tube 32. Welded tol the outside of the tube is a ring 34 which abuts against a shoulder within .the head 26 and thus limits inward movement of the tube. At 'the outer end of the tube 32 is a body 36 forming an entrance cone to the tube, this body being held in place on the tube by rods 38 secured at one of their ends to the head 26 and at their other ends passing through and projecting beyond the radial lugs 40 on said body 36.- Stiff coil springs ,42 between the flange 40 and the headed terminal ends of said rods serve to compensate for unequal expansion between the rods 38 and tube 32.

Telescoped over and projecting from the cone body 36 is a cylindrical member 44, bolts 46 holding the parts in fixed position. Said member is provided with radial apertures 48 the effective areas of which are controlled by a damper shown as a split band 50 provided at its split by upstanding lugs or anges 52,

through which are passed a bolt 54 for tightening and holding the band in place. This band is preferably provided with apertures A56 adapted to register with the apertures 48 in the member 44. n By turning the band the effective areas ofthe apertures may be readily controlled as will be readily understood.

The, front end of the cylindrical member 44 l is closed by a plate 58 which is flxedly secured to said member in any suitable manner as by bolts 60. On the inner side of the plate is formed an annular chamber 62 having an inlet connection 64 for fuel gas. 66 indicates j et orifice nozzles removably secured in the side wall 68 of the chamber 62, four such nozzles being shown. Removability of the nozzles is I desirable in order to'permit different size said member.

nozzles to be provided depending on the character of the fuel gas to be utilized. The parts 44 and 58 constitute in effect a casing formin a hood at the front end of the tube 32. f

Positioned within the tube 32 at the discharge endv thereof `is a spider 70 through the hub of which extends a tubular body 72 having a restricted discharge orifice or nozzle 74. Forming an extension of said body is a pipe 76 which projects through a central opening in the closure plate 58 at the otherend of the apparatus, there being secured to the outer end of the pipe a chambered fitting 78 fixedly secured to said plate in any suitable manner. In communication with the chamber of the fitting is a' pipe 80 for supplying a fluid suitable for atomizing fuel oil.

Adjustably mounted in the fitting 78 is a tubular fitting 82 from one end of whichextends a fuel oil supply pipe 84 and from' the other end of which extends a pipe 86 which terminates within the tubular member 72 at the other end of the apparatus. Slidably mounted within the tubular member 72 is a chambered cylindrical memberf-88 into which the pipe 86 is screwed, this member being exteriorly provided with axially extending slots 90 to permit fluid from the pipe 76 to flow past said member. 92 indicates outlet ports from the chamber within said member 88, it vbeing noted that these ports are obliquely disposed with respect to the axis of member 88 is a head 94 provided with spiral grooves 9.6 in its surface, the head tapering off to a tip as shown. The major diameter of this head may be such as to form a sliding liti in the bore of member 72 but as shown it is preferred that said diameter be somewhat less than said bore. The body 88 intermediate its ends is o reduced diameter as indicated at 98 to form, as it were, an annular chamber whereinto the fuel oil from the ports or passages 92 is projected to be picked up by the stream of atomizing fluid iowing along the slots 90.

The mode of operation of the apparatus will now be briefly described. Fuel gas under relatively high pressure, say a pressure of 25 lbs. per sq. in., issupplied to the chamber 62 by pipe 64. This gas flows from the chamber 62 through the jet orifice nozzles 66 in the side wall 68 of the chamber and induces a flow of air through the apertures 48 in' the cylindrical casing 44, the split band damper 50 being so adjusted that considerably less air than is required for complete combustion of the gas is entrained. The tube 32 is a relatively long one and consequently the. air and gas become thoroughly mixed by the time the discharge end of the tube is reached. l J

The gas rich mixture is discharged from the tube 32 into the throat 6 across an intervening Formed as an extension of4 air space and consequently tends to induce a flow of air through the apertures 16 in the surrounding casing, the split band damper 18 being so adjusted that the balance of the air needed for complete combustion of the gas is entrained at this second entraining stage. Complete mixing of the additional air and the gas rich mixture does not, however, occur in the throat 6 since the latter is too short for that purpose, but nevertheless the mixture, such as it is, is combustible although it burns with less speed than an explosive gaseous-mixturewould burn. The resulting flame is relatively long and appreciably luminous but not sufficiently luminous to form a source of intense radiant heat and it is diiiicult if not impossible to secure flame temperatures in excess of 2750o F.

In order to malte the mixture formed as aforesaid highly luminous,- there is introduced into the gas rich mixture leaving the tube 32 a relatively small amount of fuel oil in atomized condition. Fuel oil under suitable pressure is conducted by the pipe 84, fitting 82, and pipe 86 to the chambered body 88 and from thence the oil is discharged through passages 92 into the annular space 98.

The atomizing medium is conveniently fuel gas under pressure from the same source of supply as the gas which is deliveredby pipe 64 to the gas chamber 62. This atomizing medium is delivered by pipe 80 into the cham bered fitting 78 from whence it flows through pipe 76 into the bore of the member 72. Uponreaching said bore the gas flows along the slots or channels 90 in the cylindrical body 88 and past the oil outlet ports 92 in the member 88 on its way to the outlet orifice 74. It follows therefore that the gaseous medium will become impregnated with oil vapors, it being understood that the body 72 will be relatively hot due to absorption of heat from the furnace. The atomizing medium being so laden with oil vapors must flow along the spiral paths formed on the head 94 to reach the nal outlet 74 from the chambered body 72 and hence the mixture of oil vapors and the aton1 izing medium will leave the outlet orifice 74 with a whirling motion with the result that the mixture tends to spread out into the path of the gas rich mixture leaving the tube 32. By adjusting the position of the spiraled head 94 with respect to the outlet orifice 74, which. adjustment is effected by turning the fitting 82 at the opposite endof the apparatus, the degree of whirlin motion of the mixture leaving the nozzle 74 can be appreciably controlled, the closer the head 94 is to the 'outlet orifice 74 the more pronounced being the whirling motion of the mixture.

It was previously stated that the split band said mixture is being impregnatedwith oil vapors as said, the damper 18 is adjusted to admit enough additional air to compensate for the additional fuel introduced into the mixture. The amount of oil required to increase the luminosity of the flame is relatively small. i

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides an apparatus for efficiently burning fuel gas in a. manner to produce a long flame although of not very intense luminosity and provides means for increasing the luminosity by adding in a simple manner a relatively small amount of fuel oil. The invention finds special application in connection with long furnaces `Where a long flame is desired.

That l claim is:

l. A burner apparatus comprising in combination, a body having an opening therethreugh forming a throat for the passage of combustible mixture, a casing secured to said body and forming a hood at the entrance to said throat, a. relatively long tube projecting from said casing from a point therewithin, a casing forming a hood at the outer end of said tube, means for discharging fuel gas into said tube from Within the confines of the second-mentioned casing, means individual to each of said casings for individually controllingthe admission of air thereinto, and means within the confines of the first! mentioned casing for discharging fuel oil into the gaseous mixture issuing from said tube.

2. A burner vapparatus comprising in combination, a body having an opening therethrough forming a th'roat for the passage of combustible mixture, a casing secured to said body and forming a hood at the entrance to said throat, a relatively long tube projecting from vsaid casing from a point therewithin, a casing forming a hood at the outer end of said tube, means for discharging fuel gas into said tube from Within the confines of the second-mentioned casing. means individual to each of said casings for individually controlling the admission of air thereinto` and means adjacent the discharge end of said tube for discharging atomized fuel oil into the gaseous mixture issuing from the tube.

,3. A burner apparatus comprising in combination,a body having an opening there;

through forming a throat for the passage of combustible mixture, a casing secured to said body and forming a hood at the entrance to said throat, a relatively long tube projecting from said casing froma point therewithin, a casing forming a hood at the outer end of said tube, means for discharging fuel gas into said tube from Within the confines of the second-mentioned casing, means individual to each of said casings for individually controlling the admission of air thereinto, a tubular member within said tube adjacent the discharge end thereof, means for delivering fuel oil to the interior of said member, and means Within said member for imparting a whirling motion to the oil as it leaves said member.

4. A burner apparatus comprising in combination, a body having an opening therethrough forming a throat for the passage of combustible mixture, a casing secured to said body and forming a hood at the entrance to said throat, a relatively long tube projecting from said ucasing from a, point therewithin, a casing forming a hood at the outer end of said tube, a gas chamber Within the last-mentioned casing, ctn-orifice nozzles positioned in a side Wall of said chamber and set to discharge into said tube, means individual to each of said casings for individually controlling the admission of air thereinto, and means at the discharge end of said tube for spraying fuel oil into the gaseous mixture issuing from said tube.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature.

HUGH B. BARBER. 

